stir up

verb

stirred up; stirring up; stirs up

transitive verb

1

: to cause (someone) to feel a strong emotion and a desire to do something

The speech stirred up the crowd.

2

: to cause (something) to move up into and through the air or water

The workers stirred up a lot of dust.

3

: to cause (something, usually something bad or unpleasant) to happen

They're trying to stir up trouble.

But, of course, there's a reason politicians generally try to communicate deliberately: It helps them avoid saying things that might offend voters or stir up controversy.

—Philip Bump

I'm not a rebel, trying to stir things up just to be provocative.

—Norma Klein

… the incident stirred up a hornet's nest of protest and indignation.

—Robert T. Martinott

Examples of stir up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This stuff is oil-free and safe for sensitive skin, so as not to stir up breakouts. —Anamaria Glavan, Allure, 28 June 2024

Republican presidents like Richard Nixon, George H. W. Bush, and Donald Trump all focused on urban crime as a way to stir up white suburban voters in particular. —Abdallah Fayyad, Vox, 27 June 2024

The video stirred up people’s complex feelings about the future of AI in dating. —Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 17 June 2024

The planets are stirring up extreme energy as Mars in your 9th House of Expansion picks a fight with intense Pluto in your 6th House of Analytical Improvement. —Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 11 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1